I was hanging out with a bunch of friends who happen to be mums and I just mentioned casually about how I feel uncomfortable sometimes when I see women breastfeeding in public with their boobs showing (i.e no cover) and they kinda had a go at me for being judgmental. According to them some babies refuse to breastfeed with covers, and so it’s not like you’re going to let your child starve over something that’s completely natural. I fully support breastfeeding for sure, and didn’t really know that kids would have an issue with you covering up a bit. But from a modesty perspective, I can’t imagine showing a room full of random people that part of my body.
For those of who you have breastfed, did you ever have issues with this?
of course, it is immoral to breastfeed a baby in public with their mummery glands out in the open. modesty demands of a woman to cover herself before breastfeeding her child.
i would definitely be very uncomfortable for sure if i see one doing just that in public.
I exclusively breastfed but I never nursed in front of people in public or uncovered . I always used a cover or excused myself to somewhere more private of discreet, I didn't feel comfortable exposing that to strangers lol.
I exclusively breastfed but I never nursed in front of people in public or uncovered . I always used a cover or excused myself to somewhere more private of discreet, I didn't feel comfortable exposing that to strangers lol.
well yeh this is what I thought but then maybe as muslims we're a bit more concerned about modesty anyways.
I always assumed you could always use a cover, but the one friend was saying her kid would never let her and some others chimed in with the same experience and she would rather do it openly than go into some dirty public washroom and breastfeed her child there... which I understand as well, doesn't sound very pleasant either.
My babies never had problems nursing under a cover…if I was at a restaurant or somewhere where the ladies room wasn’t conducive for nursing I’d just excuse myself and go nurse in my car. I’ve done it plenty of times. It’s not comfortable but sure beats whipping out Ethel and Lucy in public
Not a mother but as a woman, I would feel uncomfortable if a woman was breastfeeding her child with her boobs on full display. From friends/co-workers/cousins etc.....I have yet to hear a mother I know saying that her child flat out refuses to nurse when hungry b/c there is a cover over them.
I know during the years I've worked in restaurants...twice I saw situations where moms whose baby got hungry asked the manager if she could go back to a office or employee break room to nurse the child....instead of doing it in the middle of the dining room. Both time the managers allowed them to do it in the office in private. Few months ago when I was at my docs office, I overheard a mother asking the receptionist if there is somewhere she could nurse her baby in private instead of doing it in the waiting room....the receptionist (after talking with the office manager) took the mother back somewhere....I assume at a empty exam room/employee break room or whatever.
There may be occasions......RARE occasions where a mother absolutely does not have a choice. But from what I see/hear at here in the U.S.......for a mother who desires privacy, all she has to do it ask. Most businesses are willing to help b/c they would also prefer that a woman doesn't whip out her boob in front of other customers/clients/patients etc.
P.S. I'm curious....for a mother who wants to breastfeed.....is there a reason....like a logical/medical/development whatever....like a VALID reason why they can't pump the milk & take bottles if they know they'll be outside the home with the baby on a regular basis? Please no flames b/c not being a mother....I haven't researched this much.
P.S. I'm curious....for a mother who wants to breastfeed.....is there a reason....like a logical/medical/development whatever....like a VALID reason why they can't pump the milk & take bottles if they know they'll be outside the home with the baby on a regular basis? Please no flames b/c not being a mother....I haven't researched this much.
Nipple confusion. Sometimes infants have a hard time going between bottle and breast and form a preference.
I tried to pump and introduce the bottle to my eldest once breastfeeding was successfully established, but by then he didn't like bottles. I tried just about every bottle/nipple combination, but he wasn't having it!
With my twins, I was less restricted.
While they were in the NICU, o went to nurse them 3 times a day and the other feedings they got bottle fed by
I had pumped. Once they got home, they easily went between being nursed by me to being bottle fed pumped bm by my husband.
I’ve seen it in airports quite a bit, the public breastfeeding without a cover I mean. And you don’t typically see a whole boob, just parts of it. This article kind of says the same things my friends were saying:
for me i guess as a person who doesn’t flash any part of my boobs ever I guess, this would probably never be an option regardless of how badly the kid needed to be fed.
Here is my response to the 5 main points in the article:
Not sure what rock she lives under but there are things called “nursing covers”. No need to balance a blanked on your shoulder or whatever. A simple google search shows plenty of pics.
Again…not sure where she lives…but a nurse cover made of light cotton material shouldn’t make the baby hot. Most countries in the western world have AC. And going by the pics, the baby is not 100% cover. They can still see…which leads me to point #3](http://www.paklinks.com/gs/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=3) .
Again, looking at the pics of the nursing covers…many of them do not cover the face of the baby. They have a gap at top which allows the mother and baby to maintain eye contact.
The issue here hasn’t her getting “attention”. Its the type of attention. The idea of breastfeeding does not make people uncomfortable. So if I see a woman with a nursing cover…yes I am aware that she’s breastfeeding. I have a problem with seeing her boobs/nipples whatever. People don’t complain b/c women are breast-feeding in public…people complain b/c its being done without a cover.
There’s nothing inappropriate about bringing a baby in this world through vaginal birth either. Yet how many women would feel comfortable doing it with a room full of strangers. Even in a hospital…how many women would be ok with giving birth (even with help from doctors/nurses) in the middle of a hallway where visitors and other non-medical workers are walking back and forth…compared to giving birth in a private room or a area surrounded by curtains?
It’s not always so easy not to look…and once I’ve seen a nipple…its a bit too late for me to not see it. I can’t exactly make myself un-see what I already saw.
P.S. Even at airports…a woman, if she chooses, can easily go a area that’s not super crowded. If you’re sitting at a gate that’s packed with passengers…and you can see that the gate on the other side is literally empty…doesn’t take a genius to figure out that you’ll get more privacy if you simply get off your behind and walk across to the other gate…instead of whipping out the boob while being surrounded by over 200 people in a tight area (Seen this happen several times when waiting for plane). Just like many other things in life…if a woman wants to avoid ANY chance that her nipples/breasts will be exposed in public, she can make it happen. Just a matter of how badly she wants to avoid doing it. For women who don’t care…they’ll make plenty of excuses as to why its so hard.
I know in NYC it’s legal to show the top half your body.
In Australia, you are legally allowed to breastfeed and I don’t particularly see why anyone else should judge a mother for doing what’s natural for her. If she doesn’t have a problem with it. Why do you?
Personally, I don’t know what I would do, but I wouldn’t be that happy if I did it and a friend of mine was going “oh god, a boob D:” as if you’ve never seen one before.
That being said Australia (and other European countries) are much more flexible about nudity. We have nude beaches etc. Australia unlike America or Asia doesn’t have that much stigma to people being naked. Also, as breastfeeding is natural process. There isn’t much stigma attached to it… If you don’t like seeing breasts. Do you just not watch TV etc too? I mean Titanic had breasts too!
Although, some tourist do find it weird when they see top half naked girls at the beach…
Those who remove themselves from a busy area do it because that’s what makes THEM comfortable. Not what makes YOU comfortable.
I guess USA and Asia have some shame left compare to Australia, Europe, etc.
Stigma and oversexualising female anatomy :P also, many East Asian countries have hot springs etc. So, it's not really about shame. It's just we have different attitudes to nudity depending on the situation, culture, tradition, and stigma.
You don't want to breastfeed in public that's fine, but you shouldn't force others to not to. If they feel comfortable about it and aren't directly drawing attention to themselves I don't see the problem.
I wouldn't nurse in public myself without a cover but that being said I also would not have a hissy fit or be embarrassed or horrified if I saw a mom doing it. It serves a purely utilitarian function- i.e. feeding your kid. It's not sexual- or shouldn't be seen as such, anyway.
As for the cover, I have a cotton nursing poncho and both baby and I hate it. It covers her face, she gets shot, I get hot, and I can't see her. I prefer to sit in the car or somewhere else privately and nurse with a minimal amount of skin exposed but I refuse to use that cover.
Because it's an extra step - sometimes several steps because pumping takes time and you might need a couple of times to get the required volume- and it's unnecessary. The advantage of nursing is that you don't have to fuss with bottles - you are your baby's bottle. I only pump so my mom can help feed the baby if I'm unwell and on various medications- which I've been lately. That's it. I have no desire to have a stash in the fridge otherwise.
P.S. I'm curious....for a mother who wants to breastfeed.....is there a reason....like a logical/medical/development whatever....like a VALID reason why they can't pump the milk & take bottles if they know they'll be outside the home with the baby on a regular basis? Please no flames b/c not being a mother....I haven't researched this much.
Kakee, women can go topless on some American beaches.. I saw a fair amount of it in South Beach, Miami.. Not as common or accepted as it is in Europe though..
Kakee, women can go topless on some American beaches.. I saw a fair amount of it in South Beach, Miami.. Not as common or accepted as it is in Europe though..
Well, I'm thinking of Nordic countries. (example swiss/Finnish nude beaches and bathing etc) Not really sure about uk, but my general impression is that the more religious the country is the more conservative they are.
It is a stigma though. Do you care about men being half naked?
Also, I did say it was legal to go half naked in NY. I think I've seen half naked female joggers although it's a bit rare. (and I'm pretty sure it's not that comfortable)
Attitudes towards public indecency is different really. Only recently have some European laws changed their laws. You could go to the shop fully naked and it wasn't a problem. I think they recently changed the law on that however.
Another example in Australia there are people who go to the mall without shoes on. Now someone outside of Australia would find that weird, but it's rather normal.
^^Topless men don't bother me.. I was brought up swimming regularly so am used to seeing bare legs, arms and torsos lol
Agree with sgc:
I wouldn't nurse in public myself without a cover but that being said I also would not have a hissy fit or be embarrassed or horrified if I saw a mom doing it. It serves a purely utilitarian function- i.e. feeding your kid. It's not sexual- or shouldn't be seen as such, anyway.
